Rosh Hashanah 4

יוֹם טוֹב שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה שֶׁחָל לִהְיוֹת בְּשַׁבָּת, בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ הָיוּ תוֹקְעִים, אֲבָל לֹא בַמְּדִינָה. מְשֶּׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁיְּהוּ תּוֹקְעִין בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁיֶּשׁ בּוֹ בֵית דִּין. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, לֹא הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי אֶלָּא בְיַבְנֶה בִּלְבָד. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, אֶחָד יַבְנֶה וְאֶחָד כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיֶּשׁ בּוֹ בֵית דִּין:

If the festival of Rosh Hashanah fell out on Shabbath, in the mikdash (the Temple) they would blow the shofar, [for the blowing of the shofar is not (an interdicted Sabbath) labor. The rabbis decreed against it lest he come to carry the shofar four cubits in the public domain. But in the Temple they did not decree against it, there being no rabbinic shvuth ("resting") interdict in the Temple.], but not in the province [i.e., not in Jerusalem and not outside it. And Rambam says that all of Jerusalem is called "mikdash," and the rest of Eretz Yisrael "the province" (medinah).] When the Temple was destroyed, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai instituted that they blow wherever there is a beth-din, [even if they do not regularly preside there but just pass through.] R. Elazar said: R. Yochanan b. Zakkai instituted it only in Yavneh alone, [where the Great Sanhedrin presided in his days, and so, wherever the Great Sanhedrin was exiled, but not with a beth-din of twenty-three.] They countered: Both in Yavneh and in any place where there is a beth-din. [The difference between the first tanna and "They countered": The first tanna holds (that the shofar is blown on Shabbath) wherever there is a beth-din, even adventitiously; and "They countered" hold both in Yavneh and any other place where there is a regularly presiding beth-din, as in Yavneh, but not an adventitious one. The halachah is in accordance with "They countered."]

וְעוֹד זֹאת הָיְתָה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם יְתֵרָה עַל יַבְנֶה, שֶׁכָּל עִיר שֶׁהִיא רוֹאָה וְשׁוֹמַעַת וּקְרוֹבָה וִיכוֹלָה לָבֹא, תּוֹקְעִין. וּבְיַבְנֶה לֹא הָיוּ תוֹקְעִין אֶלָּא בְּבֵית דִּין בִּלְבָד:

And this, too, obtained in Jerusalem, which did not obtain in Yavneh [Our Mishnah is defective. This is what was taught: In Jerusalem they blew the shofar in the entire city (on Shabbath) so long as beth-din sat in the Temple, beth-din presiding until the sixth hour of the day. And in Yavneh, they did not blow in the entire city, but only before the beth-din. "And this, too, obtained in Jerusalem, which did not obtain in Yavneh"], that every city which "saw" [Jerusalem (blew on Shabbath) — to exclude a city situated in a valley, which, though it may have been "near," they did not blow the shofar in], and which heard (the shofar), [to exclude a city situated on a mountain top], and which was near, [to exclude a city situated outside the tchum], and which could come, [to exclude a city separated (from Jerusalem) by a river]. And in Yavneh they blew only before beth-din alone.

בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה הָיָה הַלּוּלָב נִטָּל בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ שִׁבְעָה, וּבַמְּדִינָה יוֹם אֶחָד. מִשֶּׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי שֶׁיְהֵא לוּלָב נִטָּל בַּמְּדִינָה שִׁבְעָה זֵכֶר לַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְשֶׁיְּהֵא יוֹם הָנֵף כֻּלּוֹ אָסוּר:

In the beginning, the lulav was taken in the mikdash seven days, [it being written (Leviticus 23:40): "And you shall rejoice before the L-rd your G-d seven days"], and in the medinah, one day, [viz. (Ibid.): "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day."] When the Temple was destroyed, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai instituted that the lulav be taken in the medinah seven days in remembrance of the mikdash and that the day of "hanef" [the waving of the omer (i.e., the sixteenth of Nissan)] be entirely forbidden [in the eating of "chadash" (see Succah 3:12)].

בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה הָיוּ מְקַבְּלִין עֵדוּת הַחֹדֶשׁ כָּל הַיּוֹם. פַּעַם אַחַת נִשְׁתַּהוּ הָעֵדִים מִלָּבֹא, וְנִתְקַלְקְלוּ הַלְוִיִּם בַּשִּׁיר. הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ מְקַבְּלִין אֶלָּא עַד הַמִּנְחָה. וְאִם בָּאוּ עֵדִים מִן הַמִּנְחָה וּלְמַעְלָה, נוֹהֲגִין אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם קֹדֶשׁ וּלְמָחָר קֹדֶשׁ. מִשֶּׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁיְּהוּ מְקַבְּלִין עֵדוּת הַחֹדֶשׁ כָּל הַיּוֹם. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה, וְעוֹד זֹאת הִתְקִין רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ רֹאשׁ בֵּית דִּין בְּכָל מָקוֹם, שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ הָעֵדִים הוֹלְכִין אֶלָּא לִמְקוֹם הַוָּעַד:

In the beginning, they would accept witnesses to (the appearance of) the new moon the entire day. Once, the witnesses were late in coming and the Levites defaulted in the psalm [of the afternoon tamid, not chanting it at all. For usually, the witnesses came before the afternoon, for which reason they instituted the yom tov psalm for the afternoon tamid. And, for the morning tamid, where most of the time the witnesses had not yet come and it was not known whether the day would be sanctified (as Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, i.e., Rosh Hashanah), they did not institute the yom tov psalm, but the weekday psalm. And on that occasion (above), when the time for the offering of the afternoon tamid had arrived, and the witnesses had not yet arrived, the Levites did not know whether to chant the yom tov or the weekday psalm — and they chanted no psalm at all], wherefore they instituted that witnesses be accepted only until minchah, and if they came after minchah, that day was observed as holy, and the next day as holy. [When it got dark on the night after the twenty-ninth of Elul, they observed it (the thirtieth) as holy on the possibility that witnesses would come in the daytime and beth-din would sanctify it, so that the preceding night would be found to have been yom tov; likewise, the day after, until minchah. And if witnesses came before minchah, beth-din sanctified the New Moon and it was know that they had correctly observed (the day until then) as holy. And if witnesses came from minchah on, even though beth-din would not sanctify that day, and they would intercalate Elul and sanctify it (the New Moon) on the next day — still, they observed that day (the thirtieth) as holy, interdicting work, lest they come to "cheapen" it the following year and work the entire day, saying: "Last year we observed it as holy in vain, going back to treating it as a weekday from minchah on."] When the Temple was destroyed, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai ordained that they accept witnesses to the new moon the entire day. R. Shimon b. Karchah said: And this, too, was instituted by R. Yochanan b. Zakkai: that even if the head of beth-din were in a different place, [so that they would (by right) be constrained to go from the (regular) meeting place (of the Sanhedrin) to that place, the sanctification of the new moon being essentially vested in him, viz. (2:7): "The head of beth-din says: 'It is sanctified'"] — still, the witnesses were not required to go [to him, but] only to the (regular) meeting place [of the Sanhedrin, and they would sanctify it without the head of beth-din.]

סֵדֶר בְּרָכוֹת, אוֹמֵר אָבוֹת וּגְבוּרוֹת וּקְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם, וְכוֹלֵל מַלְכוּיוֹת עִמָּהֶן, וְאֵינוֹ תוֹקֵעַ. קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּוֹם, וְתוֹקֵעַ. זִכְרוֹנוֹת, וְתוֹקֵעַ. שׁוֹפָרוֹת, וְתוֹקֵעַ. וְאוֹמֵר עֲבוֹדָה וְהוֹדָאָה וּבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן נוּרִי. אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אִם אֵינוֹ תוֹקֵעַ לַמַּלְכוּיוֹת, לָמָּה הוּא מַזְכִּיר. אֶלָּא אוֹמֵר אָבוֹת וּגְבוּרוֹת וּקְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם, וְכוֹלֵל מַלְכוּיוֹת עִם קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּוֹם, וְתוֹקֵעַ. זִכְרוֹנוֹת, וְתוֹקֵעַ. שׁוֹפָרוֹת, וְתוֹקֵעַ. וְאוֹמֵר עֲבוֹדָה וְהוֹדָאָה וּבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים:

The order of blessings (on Rosh Hashanah): He says avoth [magen Avraham], and gevuroth [atah gibor], and kedushath Hashem [kadosh, kadosh], and he includes malchuyoth with them. And he does not blow. (He says) kedushath hayom [atah bechartanu], and he blows; zichronoth, and he blows; shofroth, and he blows. [These are derived from verses: It is written (Leviticus 23:24): "zichron teruah," which our sages expounded: "zichron" — these are "zichronoth"; "teruah" — these are "shofroth." And it is written (Numbers 10:10): "And they shall be to you as a memorial before your G-d; I am the L-rd your G-d." Why mention "I am the L-rd your G-d"? It is intended as a prototype, viz.: Wherever zichronoth ("memorials") and shofroth are recited (as they are on Rosh Hashanah - "zichron teruah"), malchuyoth (acknowledgments of G-d's reign) are to be recited along with them.] And he says avodah (retzeh), and hoda'ah (modim), and birchath Cohanim. These are the words of R. Yochanan b. Nuri. R. Akiva said to him: If he does not blow for malchuyoth, why does he mention (them)? Rather, he says avoth, gevuroth, and kedushath Hashem; and he includes malchuyoth with kedushath hayom and he blows; zichronoth, and he blows; shofroth, and he blows. And he says avodah, hoda'ah, and birchath Cohanim. [The halachah is in accordance with R. Akiva.]

אֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מֵעֲשָׂרָה מַלְכוּיוֹת, מֵעֲשָׂרָה זִכְרוֹנוֹת, מֵעֲשָׂרָה שׁוֹפָרוֹת. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן נוּרִי אוֹמֵר, אִם אָמַר שָׁלשׁ שָׁלשׁ מִכֻּלָּן, יָצָא. אֵין מַזְכִּירִין זִכָּרוֹן מַלְכוּת וְשׁוֹפָר שֶׁל פֻּרְעָנוּת. מַתְחִיל בַּתּוֹרָה וּמַשְׁלִים בַּנָּבִיא. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, אִם הִשְׁלִים בַּתּוֹרָה, יָצָא:

One is to recite no fewer than ten (verses) of malchuyoth: [three from the Torah, three from Prophets, three from the Writings, and a concluding verse from the Torah], (no fewer than) ten zichronoth, and ten shofroth. R. Yochanan b. Nuri says: If he recited three of each, [one of Torah, one of Prophets, one of Writings], he has fulfilled his obligation. [The halachah is in accordance with R. Yochanan b. Nuri.] One does not recite zichronoth, malchuyoth, and shofroth of adversity, [such as (Ezekiel 20:33): "Surely, with a strong hand … shall I reign over you," (Psalms 78:39): "And He remembered that they were but flesh," (Hosea 5:8): "Blow the shofar in Giveah," and the like. And zichronoth relating to individuals (as opposed to those relating to the populace in general), like (Nechemiah 5:19): "Remember me, O my G-d, for good," even though they are for the good, are not to be recited. And this is the halachah.] R. Yossi says: If he concludes with (verses in) the Torah, he has fulfilled his obligation. [The gemara explains: He concludes in Torah; but if he concludes in Prophets, he has fulfilled his obligation. The halachah is in accordance with R. Yossi.]

הָעוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה בְּיוֹם טוֹב שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, הַשֵּׁנִי מַתְקִיעַ. וּבִשְׁעַת הַהַלֵּל, רִאשׁוֹן מַקְרֵא אֶת הַהַלֵּל:

The prayer leader on the yom tov of Rosh Hashanah — the second officiates at the blowing of the shofar [i.e., The prayer leader at mussaf officiates at the shofar blowing, and not the shacharith prayer leader. This was instituted at a time of shmad (enforced conversion), when they decreed against blowing the shofar and lay in wait for them all six hours of the time of the shacharith prayer, whereupon they moved the shofar blowing from shacharith to mussaf.]; and at the time of Hallel, the first officiates at the Hallel. [Because Hallel is not recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we have "and at the time of Hallel"; that is, on the other festivals, when Hallel is recited.]

שׁוֹפָר שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, אֵין מַעֲבִירִין עָלָיו אֶת הַתְּחוּם, וְאֵין מְפַקְּחִין עָלָיו אֶת הַגַּל, לֹא עוֹלִין בְּאִילָן, וְלֹא רוֹכְבִין עַל גַּבֵּי בְהֵמָה, וְלֹא שָׁטִין עַל פְּנֵי הַמַּיִם, וְאֵין חוֹתְכִין אוֹתוֹ בֵּין בְּדָבָר שֶׁהוּא מִשּׁוּם שְׁבוּת, וּבֵין בְּדָבָר שֶׁהוּא מִשּׁוּם לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה. אֲבָל אִם רָצָה לִתֵּן לְתוֹכוֹ מַיִם אוֹ יַיִן, יִתֵּן. אֵין מְעַכְּבִין אֶת הַתִּינוֹקוֹת מִלִּתְקוֹעַ, אֲבָל מִתְעַסְּקִין עִמָּהֶן עַד שֶׁיִּלְמְדוּ. וְהַמִּתְעַסֵּק, לֹא יָצָא, וְהַשּׁוֹמֵעַ מִן הַמִּתְעַסֵּק, לֹא יָצָא:

The shofar of Rosh Hashanah — the tchum is not crossed for it [i.e., It is forbidden to go outside the tchum in order to bring a shofar or to go to hear the blowing], and a mound (that has fallen on it) is not dug up (to extract it). It is forbidden to climb a tree, to ride an animal, or to swim (for its sake). And it may not be cut, both with something interdicted because of shvuth ("resting") [such as a knife] or with something which is interdicted by negative commandment, [as with a saw, which is an absolute labor in woodworking. Some understand it in the opposite manner: "something interdicted by reason of shvuth" — a sickle, which it is not the practice to cut (objects) with. "something interdicted by negative commandment" — a knife, which is used for cutting.] But if he wishes to put water or wine therein, he may do so, [and we do not say that he is amending an object thereby.] We do not stop the children [who have reached the age of chinuch (mitzvah training)] from blowing it [even on Shabbath, in order to train them for mitzvoth, that they gain practice in blowing for the yom tov of Rosh Hashanah], and one may (even) practice with them. [And there is no reason to decree lest he come to carry it four cubits in the public domain, for he is not preoccupied with a mitzvah, but just practicing, and they decreed lest he come to carry it four cubits in the public domain only at a time when he was obligated in the blowing of shofar, when, being preoccupied with fulfilling his obligation, he might forget the Sabbath.] And one who (merely) practices (blowing the shofar) does not fulfill his obligation. And one who hears from one who practices does not fulfill his obligation.

סֵדֶר תְּקִיעוֹת, שָׁלשׁ, שֶׁל שָׁלשׁ שָׁלשׁ. שִׁעוּר תְּקִיעָה כְּשָׁלשׁ תְּרוּעוֹת. שִׁעוּר תְּרוּעָה כְּשָׁלשׁ יְבָבוֹת. תָּקַע בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה, וּמָשַׁךְ בַּשְּׁנִיָּה כִשְׁתַּיִם, אֵין בְּיָדוֹ אֶלָּא אֶחָת. מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ וְאַחַר כָּךְ נִתְמַנָּה לוֹ שׁוֹפָר, תּוֹקֵעַ וּמֵרִיעַ וְתוֹקֵעַ שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים. כְּשֵׁם שֶׁשְּׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר חַיָּב, כָּךְ כָּל יָחִיד וְיָחִיד חַיָּב. רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר מוֹצִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָן:

The order of blowing: Three, [one for malchuyoth, one for zichronoth, one for shofroth], of three each [tekiah, teruah, tekiah for each one. For two teruoth are mentioned in respect to Rosh Hashanah and one in respect to Yom Kippur of the Jubilee, and we derive by identity, "seventh"-"seventh," that what is stated in respect to one we apply to the other. So that "teruah" mentioned in respect to the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee, we apply to Rosh Hashanah, leaving us with three teruoth for Rosh Hashanah. And the two teruoth mentioned in respect to Rosh Hashanah, we apply to Yom Kippur, leaving us with three teruoth for Yom Kippur. And every teruah (broken blast) has a plain blast (tekiah) before it and after it. As it was taught (29b): "Whence is it derived that there is a plain blast before it (the teruah)? From (Leviticus 25:9): "And you shall cause to pass a shofar of teruah?" And whence is it derived that there is a plain blast after it? From (Ibid.): "shall you cause to pass a shofar" — "passing" before and after, and teruah in the middle. "passing" connotes a plain blast, the "passing" of a single, plain sound. So that for the three teruoth of Rosh Hashanah, there are six tekioth — thus, "three of three each."] The length of the tekiah [i.e., the length of all the tekioth, six in number] is three teruoth, [so that the length of a tekiah is half a teruah.] The length of a teruah is three yevavoth [three short notes. Some explain that each yevavah is three short blasts in succession, so that the length of a teruah is nine short blasts in succession. And this stands more to reason.] If he blew a [regular] tekiah before [the teruah] and he extended the second [the tekiah after the teruah] as two, to fulfill the requirement of two tekioth one after the other — the tekiah following malchuyoth and that preceding zichronoth], he has produced only one (tekiah), [a tekiah not being divided in two]. If he blessed [i.e., if he recited the mussaf prayer and the nine blessings], and then a shofar became available to him, he blows tekiah, teruah, tekiah, three times. Just as the prayer leader is obligated, [both in the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and those of the entire year, and fulfills his obligation only with the prayer which he prays for himself, so every individual who is versed in the prayers fulfills his obligation only with his own praying, both on Rosh Hashanah and on the other days of the year. The only purpose of the prayer leader is to effect the fulfillment of the obligation for those who are not thus versed.] R. Gamliel says: The prayer leader effects the fulfillment of the obligation for the (entire) populace, [whether they be versed or unversed, both in the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and in the prayers of the entire year. Why, then, does the congregation pray in silence? So that the prayer leader can arrange his prayer. The halachah is in accordance with the sages in respect to the prayers of the entire year, that the prayer leader effects fulfillment of obligation only for the unversed. But with the blessings of Rosh Hashanah and the Yom Kippur of Jubilee, which are nine long blessings, which not all are versed in, the halachah is in accordance with R. Gamliel, that just as the prayer leader effects fulfillment of obligation for the unversed, so he fulfills it for the versed.]